Jackie Chan's Son Jaycee In Drug Arrest

The son of Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has been arrested on drug-related charges, Chinese state media say.

Actor Jaycee Chan, 31, and Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko, 23, were detained last Thursday, Beijing police said in a statement on their official microblog.

Police said both men tested positive for marijuana, with more than 100 grams of the drug found at Mr Chan's home.

Their arrest comes amid an ongoing crackdown on drugs which has already netted several celebrity figures.

In June Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "forceful measures" to tackle illegal drug use.

Gao Hu, 40, who appeared in the 2011 Zhang Yimou film "The Flowers of War", was detained earlier this month for possession of marijuana and methamphetamines, state media said.

Beijing Municipal Anti-Drug Office deputy director Jin Zhihai said that police were not specifically targeting celebrities.

"If there is an increased crackdown on drugs, the number of celebrity offenders will also rise," he told the Beijing Times on 14 August.

Last week, 42 artist management agencies in Beijing signed an agreement with police pledging not to recruit celebrities with reported drug use problems.

Mr Chan, whose father Jackie was named an official "Narcotics Control Ambassador" by Chinese police in 2009, had been put under "criminal detention" for the suspected crime of "providing a shelter for others to abuse drugs", police said.

If convicted, he faces a maximum prison term of three years.

In found guilty, Mr Ko - who is accused to consuming drugs - would receive a less severe penalty of "administrative detention" in prison which will last up to 15 days, police said.

Beijing police also said two other people, a 36-year-old assistant and a 33-year-old suspected dealer, were detained in the incident.

"I feel very regretful, very sorry to all the people who support me. I've been a very bad example, I've made a very big mistake," Mr Ko said in an interview broadcast on Chinese state television on Tuesday.

Mr Chan and his father have not yet commented on the arrest.

(BBC)